As the embers from the defeated spirits drifted away like falling ash, Haru took a step forward, sword still gripped tight, the air around him still burning hot from the final blow.
"Daichi," he called, glancing over his shoulder. "You alright?"
But Daichi didn't answer.
A jagged blur — a fourth spirit copy — lunged out from the wall.
Before Haru could react, it smashed into Daichi's side with crushing force, slamming him into the ground so hard the stone cracked beneath him.
"Daichi!!"
Haru whipped around and impaled the spirit before it could attack again, flames engulfing its body as it shrieked and dissolved. But the damage was done.
Daichi didn't move.
His form flickered, his transformation dimming as his chest rose and fell shallowly.
"Daichi—hey—" Haru dropped beside him, grabbing his shoulder, voice suddenly panicked. "Come on—get up—! Don't you dare die on me..."
———-Daichi's dream——-
Daichi fluttered his eyes open, but he wasn't in the palace anymore, he had no idea where he was until he looked around, and saw, how small his hands were..
The sun had already dipped low behind the apartment buildings, casting long shadows across the rooftop. But the air was still warm — one of those golden, late-summer evenings where time felt slower.
Daichi, six years old, sat on a weathered blanket beside his grandmother, their small portable telescope pointed at the sky.
"Which one is that one again?" Daichi asked, pointing with a tiny finger.
His grandmother smiled, the corners of her eyes crinkling. "That's Vega. Part of the Summer Triangle."
"It's the brightest one?"
"One of the brightest," she corrected gently. "But they all have their own kind of brightness. Just like people."
Daichi looked back at her, thoughtful. "…Like how I'm not loud like the other kids?"
His grandmother paused, then nodded. "Exactly. You're not loud. But you shine when you're quiet. You see things they don't. Feel things they don't notice."
Daichi didn't fully understand, but the way she said it made it feel like a good thing.
He leaned back against her, staring up at the stars — his eyes wide, curious, calm.
"Can I be a star one day?" he asked softly.
"You already are," she whispered.
They stayed there for hours, eating cold rice balls, tracing constellations with their fingers, naming stars after silly things like cats and frogs and Daichi's missing socks.
——-
The air was heavy, thick with ash and the stench of something rotten and burning. The palace walls groaned — faint, eerie noises that echoed in the distance. Something was always shifting.
Haru knelt beside Daichi, out of breath, blood trickling from a shallow cut along his temple. He'd been yelling Daichi's name for what felt like minutes now.
Then—
Daichi's fingers twitched.
"Daichi!!" Haru jolted forward, grabbing his shoulder. "Daichi! You're awake. Hey—are you okay?"
Daichi blinked slowly, groaning as he turned his head. His vision was still hazy, but Haru's stupid, anxious face was hovering right over him.
"…Why do you look like you cried?" Daichi rasped weakly, still a little out of it.
Haru scoffed, too fast. "I didn't cry, idiot. You're the one who passed out from one hit—what are you, 80 years old?"
Daichi sat up slowly, wincing as his muscles screamed in protest. "What… happened?"
Haru wiped his forehead with his sleeve, still watching Daichi like he might pass out again. "Some freak spirit jumped us. It wasn't even that strong, just fast. We didn't see it coming. It hit you first. I got rid of it, don't worry."
"You sure?" Daichi looked around, but the area was quiet now — too quiet. "You're not exactly subtle when you fight…"
Haru rolled his eyes but couldn't hide the small, relieved grin tugging at his lips. "Tch. You should've seen it. I was amazing. You missed the best part."
Daichi gave him a weak thumbs-up. "Next time I'll schedule my unconsciousness better."
Haru let out a half-laugh, sitting back on his heels. "Just don't do that again, okay?"
There was a beat of silence — honest, still, heavy.
Then Daichi looked at Haru more seriously. "Thanks… for covering me."
Haru clicked his tongue and looked away. "Shut up. I wasn't gonna drag your unconscious body around this cursed place alone."
Daichi smiled faintly. "Right. That would've been so inconvenient for you."
Haru cracked his knuckles. "Exactly. So if you feel like dying again, schedule it for after we get out of here first."
Daichi stood slowly, holding onto a nearby pillar. "Let's find the others. Before something else finds us."
Haru nodded, his voice low but steady. "Yeah. Let's go."
The spirit struck him across the chest, a clawed arm slicing through part of his transformed jacket, sending him flying into the wall with a hard crack. The impact left a deep crater in the stone, and Kaito hit the ground with a pained wheeze.
The spirit screeched — not like a voice, but a grinding, high-pitched frequency, like metal against metal, vibrating their bones.
Airi forced herself up to one knee, clutching her ribs. Something was definitely cracked. Her transformation aura flickered.
"I thought you said you said it was weak!" she hissed, coughing.
Kaito pulled himself up slowly, wincing, blood trickling from his lip. "I—It felt like that at first—!"
The spirit dove again. Kaito barely raised his arm to block it, but the blow sent him skidding across the floor.
His glasses flew off, clattering somewhere out of sight.
"AIR—!!"
Airi stepped in front of him and threw out a desperate wall of energy — it slowed the spirit for a second, but then it punched straight through it like glass. The shards of her spell flew backward and cut across her arm and cheek.
She screamed.
Kaito, shaking, dragged himself toward her. His hands glowed faintly — not enough to fight, not enough to shield, but he still tried.
"I—I c-can't…" His hands trembled. "Why isn't it working…?"
"You need to focus!" Airi snapped, her voice breaking. "Kaito, you have to—!"
The spirit let out a howl — one that echoed through the halls like a warning — and lunged forward.
The wind howled through jagged stone and shattered pillars, carrying with it the sound of heavy, dragging steps.
A shattered chandelier swung from the ceiling by a single thread of rusted chain. Every creak echoed like a scream.
Kaito lay on his side, bleeding from a cut near his brow, his transformation suit flickering and cracked. He tried to push himself up again—but his limbs trembled. He barely had enough strength to keep his eyes open.
Across from him, Airi was slumped against a wall, arm cradled against her ribs. Her normally pristine hair was wild, streaked with blood and dust, her lip split.
The spirit had slammed her hard into the column. She hadn't said anything since.
They had fought.
They had lost.
Now, there was only the suffocating silence of defeat. Until a distant grinding sound rang out from deep inside the palace.
Like something old and massive had shifted.
The spirit's head twitched toward the noise. Its body jerked, spine bending unnaturally, sensing something that neither of the children could see.
And then, without a sound, it vanished, slipping into the dark cracks in the wall like smoke curling beneath a door.
Airi's eyes remained locked on the spot where it disappeared.
Kaito whispered hoarsely, "It's… gone?"
Airi gave no response. Just a small nod.But the expression on her face didn't change,It wasn't relief, It was fear.